Tube-cleaner.



EATENTEDNOVQO, 1906. W. L. GAEAEAY. TUBE CLEANER.

APPLICATION TIL-BD JAN. Z6, 1903.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

v- PATENTED Nov. 20. 1966. W. L. GASADAY. TUBE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[2me/MW@ vided with rotatable UNITED sTATYEs PATENT oEEIcE.

WILLIAM L. CASADAY, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

TUBE-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed January 26,1903. Serial No. 140|6'79.

To all, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. CAsADAY, operation.

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of South Bend, county of St. J o-v boiler-tube cleaners of that class in which a,

rotative cutter or scraper is inserted iny the tube for the purpose of removing the accumulations of scale which accumulates in water-tube boilers sufliciently to close the tubes entirely sometimes. Heretofore many different constructions have been devised for this purpose, some of which have been proscra ers. Usually, however, after a short period of use the Scrapers or cutters become worn and less effective. Many times the tubes are coated on the interior with an indurated shell of lining material which resists the ordinary cleaner and which in some instances is not removble except at great expense in time and la- .The object of this invention is to provide a construction in the nature of a rotary reamer provided with independently-rotatable cutters or Scrapers,- which when the device is in operation serve to cut away and remove the scale, leaving .the tubes perfectly clean. While the cleaner may be operated by hand, if preferred, the same is more particularly designed as a power-cleaner and may be driven from any desired source of power.

The invention embraces many novel fea` tures; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described, and more fully pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

Fig.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is aside elevation of a device embodying my invention. 2 is a central longitudinal section there-V Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3 8 of 1, showing the same in operation in a fiue. Fig. 4'is a section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the rotary cutters or Scrapers. Fi 6 is a longitudinal section thereof after t ie same has become somewhat worn through use. Fig. 7 is an enlarged erspective view of onel of the sliding arbors or the,l cutters. Fig. 8

of. Fig.

is an enlarged side elevationillustratmg the Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the same. I

, As shown in said drawings, A indicates a shaft of vany desired kind adapted to be rotated manually or from'any desired source of ower and detachably connected with theead B, in the rear end of which is provided a socket adapted to receive the end of said shaft and through which passes a pin a. Said head is provided in its inner end with a lurality of eccentric recesses, as shown in ig. 8 three in number, which open through the side of the head B at equal distances apart. At the rear end of each of said recesses or on the end adjacent to the shaft A is provided a narrow slightlyecurved slot l), arranged eccentrically with the axis of the head and which at the outer end each opens partly through the side of the head, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. On the inner or front end of said head is fitted a removable chuck B, the rear end of which is shaped to enga e over the ends of the web portions ofthe ead B` between the recesses. Said chuck, as shown, comprises the enlarged rear end portoin b, which engages over the end of the head, as before described, and which is provided with integral side members b2 b2, the extremities` of which are integrally connected, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thereby providin an o y ening extending transversely throug the ciiuck.- In the rear end of'said chuck adjacent to the head B is provided grooves or slots b', corresponding with the grooves or slots b, but of less width and less length .than said last-named slot and having less eccentricity with respect to the axis of the head than has said slots b. Seated in the said grooves or slots b b are the sliding non-rotative shafts C, provided at the jrear end with the oblong and slightly-curved heads c, which engage in the slots b and the reducedv attenedopposite cr front ends which engage in the slots b. cutter or scraper D is rotatably securedlupon each of said shafts in osition to proj ect beyond the periphery of) the head and to slide with the shafts longitudinally offsaid "Slots b.

From the construction described it is obvious that said cutters will slide out wardly when the head is rotated in one direction and slide inwardly when the head is rotated in the other, since the contact of said cutters with the inner side of the tube or with thecoating thereon willretard the cutters and An independentlyrotatable `Q ssacae force them to `the ends of the slots opposite l ting operation tolihrce said cutters outwardly of the slots into cutting engagement with the scale on the inner surface of the tube. Said cutters D, as shown, are larger at one end thanat the other and are arranged on said shafts C with the smaller end directed for p Io wardly and, as shown, are provided with a sharpedge or V--shaped thread or spiral cutting and scraping rib adapted to rotate against the innersurface of the tube X, as shown in Fig. 3, lwhen the device is inoperation, and owing` to the dill'erence in the lengths and eccentricity of the slots l) and b with respect toieach other the rear ends of l the cutters D tend to be thrown farther outv ward than the lfront ends thereof', causing 2c said cutters to assume' a position oblique to .the axis ofthe head. Two of said cutters D', similar to the cutters D, are provided inthe chuclrB.l As' shown, non-rotatative shafts C C2. are seated at their inner ends in 'the 2 5 larger or rear end of the chuck and at their forward or. outer ends are provided with thin lat heads which engage at the forward end. The end ofthe chuck is provided with a transv vverse groove or seat to receive the Idrill-bit E, 30. which its closely said seat and ait thc eX- trernity is shaped approximately to cut the f scale as a drill. -I-f desired, said bit maybe given a slight twist to insure-clearance. An aperture l is provided .transversely through lsaid bit, 3 5 and the seat end is also axially apertured -to receive the end of the bolt n2, which extends through the head, chuck, and seat end of the bit and the head of which is engaged in theA shaft-socket. 'i The threaded end of said bolt ...ao extends into the-...transverse aperture in the d, bit and is provided with nuts to holdfthe e, parts in operative relation. l

,i .The operation is as follows: When the cleaner is rotated rapidly in the tube X, as

4 5 shown in Fig. 3, and inthe direction indicated yby the arrow Y, the contact of the cutters D i vwith* the yilue, together with centrihigal l'orcc, tends to slide'the shafts (l outwardly toward the vperiphery ol" thc head, throwing said cuty"ters, onscrapers into operative engagement 'Vvv'ithythe interior .offthctube and causing the y,same to rotate oppositely from the rotation.

o the head, asdndicated by the arrow 7i.

l lviously"saidl Ghtlf'r's ori cleaners are .thus 5 5 vpressed into zclose contact with the interior oi;

' the'tubue,v thethread-lik'e shape of the cutting orcl'ean ing surface acting to break up, scrape l out, and removei any interior adherent matterj'whether ordinary, boiler-scale or other 6o undesirable material. The drill-bit irland `cutters or scrapers D'rbeing disposed in ad-.A vance of theciitters'lor scrapcrs D and held at unvarying` distances with 'respect .to the axisserventostart th'e operation, removing a 6 5 portion of the scale' from the tube, and preparing the way for the cutters or scrapers D, the i closeness of engagement of which against the interior of the tube will depend upon the rapidity of the rotation of the head and. the Obliquity oi the slots l). and t. lt is obvious that inasmuch as the rear slots are longer than the slot b and extend nearer the periphery of the lire/ad that the rear ends of the cutters are thrown outwardly into closer contact with the iiue than the iront ends ofthe same. llt follows `th at the wear on the cutters is greatest and'most rapid toward the rear end ot the cutters, the cutters eventually through long-continued use assuming the form shown in Fig. 6, in which the V-shaped threads at the rear end ot the same are' much worn. When this occurs, it is only necessary to turn said cutters end for end, when the de,- vice will operate as before, thus venabling the cutters or cleaners to be used much longer than would otherwise he the case and at the saine time insuring the most eil'lective opera-, tion ci the device, inasmuch as the pressure of the cutters against the material to beremovcd and against the interior of the vflue increases progressively from the iront end of the device to thc .rear end of the cutter D. Oby viously the number of cutters or cleaners may be varied, and other devices may be used in conjunction therewith, and the heads may be rotated manually or power maybe used, as preferred. When it is desired to remove the device from the tube, it only is necessary to stop or to reverse the rotation thereof, when the cutters D are 'forced inwardly to the inner ends oi the slots, thereby releasing their engagement with the tube and permitting the device to be -freely with drawn. v

Obviously many details of construction may be varied without departing from the principles or this invention.

l claim as my inventioni l. A tube-cleaner comprising a rotative head having a plurality of recesses therein and a slot at each end each recess and a rotative cutter in each recess adaated to slide longitudinally el" said slots when the head is rotated. i

2. A tube-cleaner colrnprising a recessed rotative head having curved slots therein eccentric to the axis of the head and eccentric to .cach other, a rotative cutter journalcd in each recess and adapted to move4 outwardly in said slots when the head is rotated in one direction and inwardly When`ro-' tated in the opposite direction.

3. A tube-cleaner comprisin a rotative head havingoppositely-disposer slots therein of dilcrent eccentricities with res ect to the axis of the head anda cutter slida vly en.- gagrz-,d in said slots and ada ted to move ,inm wardlyl or outwardly of saiv head dependent upon the direction of rotation.

et. In av device of thehclass described the combination with a rotative, recessed head of a plurality of cutters thereon having iixed aires of rotation, and a plurality of cutters extending longitudinally of the head and slidably engaged at each end therein in' slots having diierent inclinations.

5. The combination lwith a rotative rel cessed head, having slots in the ends of said blade, chuck recess eccentric to each other and part of which o en throufrh the periphery of said head.

and a urality ola rotative cutters carried.- in said slhts and' adapted to he thrown inwardly or outwardly of said recesses dependent upon the direction of rotation oi saidhead.

6. The combination with a rotative head, having a plurality of recesses in the periphery thereof and eccentric slots at the ends of said recesses, those at one end bein longer than those at the other and at an inc ination thereto, a shaft slidably engaged in said slots and rotative cutters thereon ada ted to be -thrown outwardly when the hea is rotated in one direction and to fall inwardly when rotated in the other.

I7. In a tube-cleaner the combination'with a rotative head having a plurality of out- Wardly-opening recesses therein, of a removable chuck thereon., a blade on the forward end of said chuck, means cmnectincxr said and head axially a plurality of rotative cutters in said chuck andk a plurality 'of rotative cutters slidahly enga edin grooves at the ends of said recesses, t ie grooves in each recess being arranged out of alinernent with each other. r v

8. A tube-cleaner com rising Aahead havtube 'progressivel ing a plurality of recesses therein cach havin slots at the ends'thereo eccentric to each ot er, a removable chuck on lsaid head,

axially, a plurality of slidalole shafts in said vslots, a head on each complemental with said slots and a rotative cutter Aon each shaft.

9. -A tube-cleaner comprisin a head having a plurality ofrecesses therein and slots in i; 5;

the ends of said recesses eccentric with each other, shaft slidably engaged in the slots of 'each recess and a rotative cutter journaled thereon.

10. Arotatahle head-for the 'lied provided with three equa ly-space recesses in the sides thereof, an eccentric slot at the rear end of each recess, a chuck adapted to be rigidly secured on theront end of.t

the head and forming the other end of the re. S 5

cess andV provided with slots therein eccentric tothe aforesaid slots, shafts slidably secured in said slots in each recess, a rotatable conical cutter journaled o each of said shafts, a V-shaped spiral rib or thread eX- 6o rneans connecting said head and said chuck .4o

urposes eci- `5o 

